Pack frame

ABSTRACT

A pack frame having side frame members and crossbars extending between the side frame, worn on the back by means of a pair of shoulder straps with the lower ends of the side frame members pin-connected to a hip belt for transferring part of the load carried by the frame to the wearer&#39;&#39;s hips. In another aspect, the side frame members have wheels at their lower ends and connecting members at their upper ends for attachment to the hip belt for rolling the frame over the ground, the user pulling it forward as he walks via the attachment of the frame to the hip belt. The connecting members are movable between a retracted position extending toward one another from the opposite sides of the frame for utilization of the frame as a back pack frame, and a position extending forward for utilization of the frame as a rolling cart.

52 US. Cl. 224/25 A, 224/8 A, 224/9 51 Int, .Cl. A45f 3/10 [58] Field ofSearch 224/25 A, s A, 9, 8R

[56] 1 References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,282,483 11/1966 Babcock.l 224/25 A 3,355,075 12/1967 Dean 224/251 3,516,586 6/1970 Farnbach224/251A 3,648,907 3/1972 Romney 224/25 A App]. No.:,248,532

Primary Examiner-Robert G. Sheridan Assistant Examine'r-Jerold M.Forsberg Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Koeuig, Senniger, Powers and LeavittPohl [4.51- Dec. 24, 1974 [541 PACK FRAME 57 ABSTRACT [75 1 Inventor:Harold Pohl Washington A pack frame having side framemembers. and cross-[73]v A i Kellwood Company, St. Louis, Mo, bars extending between theside frame, worn on the [22] Filed: p 1972 back by means of a pa r ofshoulder straps with the lower ends of the side frame memberspin-connected to a hip belt for transferring part of the load carried bythe frame to the wearers hips. In another aspect, the side frame membershave wheels at their lowerends and connecting members at their upperends for attachment to-the hip belt for rolling the frame over theground, the user pulling it forward as he walks via the attachment ofthe frame to the hip belt The-connecting members are movable between aretracted posi-' tion extending toward one another from the oppositesides of the frame for utilization of the frame as a back I pack frame,and a position extending forward for utilization of the frame as arolling cart.

' 4 Claims, 10 Drawing Figures PATENTEI] EH12 4 I974 sum 2 or 3 FIGSFIG-4.

PATENTED UEC24 I974 sum 3 9 3 PACK FRAME BACKGROUND on THE INVENTION,-

This invention relates to pack frames, and more particularly to packframeswith a hip belt for supporting part of the load on the users hips.It also involves a wheeled frame adapted to be attached to the hip beltand rolled over the ground.

Reference may be made tosuch US. patents as 3,367,547,- 3,5l6,586 and3,58l,96 l showing conventional pack frames having their lower endsconnected to a hip belt.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Among the several objects of this invention maybe noted the provision of a pack frame such asabove de-' scribed havingimproved more comfortable means for connection thereof to a belt wornaround. the hips of the user; the provision of such pack frame with suchmeans enabling easy adjustment for fitting different users; theprovision of such a pack frame with wheels and means for attaching it tothe belt forbeing pulled forward by the user-as he walks forward; andthe provision hips and a strap secured to the outer surface of the padmeans adapted to encircle the wearer. The strap has means on its'endsfor fastening the hip belt in place around the hips, and means at eachside for connecting the lower portion of a respective side member to thehip belt for transferring a portion of the weight of the load carried bythe pack frame to the wearers hips. This connection means comprises atleast one hole in the strap at each side of the hip belt adjacent thelower end of a respective side member, a hole in the lower portion ofeach side member, and a removable fasten ing member extending throughthe hole in the strap and through the hole in the adjacent side memberfor connecting the lower portion of the side member to the hip belt withthe pad means interposed for comfort between the fastening member andthe wearers body. Other objects and features will be in part apparentand in part pointed out hereinafter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. l is a side elevation of awheeled pack frame of this invention as it is worn on the back; FIG. 2isa side elevation of the FIG. 1 pack frame as it is connected byconnecting members to a hip belt worn around the hips with the packframe rolling along the ground behind thewearer on its wheels;

belt for rolling along behind the wearer;

the pack frameto the hip belt worn on the back;

'FIG. 5 is an enlarged vertical section on line 5-5 of FIG. 1 showingthe connection of the lower portion of FIG. 6 is an enlarged verticalsection on line 6- -6 of FIG. 2 showing the connection of the connectingmemline 7-7 of FIG. 4,

- s ponding partsthrougnout the several views of the drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED v EMBODIMENT I Referring to the drawings,a'p'ack frame of this'invention, indicated in its entirety at l, isshown-to comprise a pair of generally parallel, spaced-apart side 'framemembers 3a and 3b, and a plurality of cross members each designated 5. Apair of shoulder straps isprovided for suspending the framefrom theshoulders on the users back. Each of these straps is designated? and has'itsupper end detachably connected to the top cross member 5 asindicated at 9 and its lower end detachably connected to the lower endportion of a respective side member 3a or 3b, as indicated at 11. Thecross members 5 are constituted-by curved bars extending between theside members (also constituted by bars). Support rods 13 extendvertically of the pack frame between cross members 5 for supporting theload carried in a suitable pack 15 (shown in phantom in FIG. 1) securedto the pack frame. A resilientweb 16 (e.g., an open mesh fabric web)extends transversely of side members 311, 3b intermediate their ends andis adapted to bear against the wearers shoulder blades to support thepack frame against his back. A hip belt generally indicated at 17 isworn around the wearers hips for purposes that will appear. t

As shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 4 the pack frame 1 has a pair of wheels 19a,19b, each rotatably carried on a stub axle 20a, 20b secured to the lowerend of a respec{ tive side member 3a, 3b. The frame also has a pair ofconnecting members 21a, 21b carried by the upper ends of the sidemembers 3a and 3b, respectively, adapted to be pivotally connected tothe'hip belt assembly to hold the pack frame in position for rollingalong the ground on the wheels behind the wearer as the wearer walksforward (see FIG. 2). Alternatively, the pack frame-may be worn on theback (as shown in FlG.-l) supported by shoulder straps 7 and also byconnection of the lower portions of side members 3a, 3b to I the hipbelt thereby to transfer a portion of the weight of the load carried bythe pack frame to the wearers hips and thusrelieve strain ontheshoulders. Wheels 19a, 19b are located on the outside of the lowerportions of the side members 3a, 3b spaced apart a distance greater thannormal hip width. The connecting members 21a, 21b are movable from theirextended connecting positions (FIG. 2) in which they extend forward fromthe side members for connection to the hip belt to a retracted position(see FIGS. 1 and 3) in which 1 I when the pack frame is 3 eachConnecting member extends inwardly crosswise of the frame toward anopposite side member clear of the wearer. Thus, the pack frame of thisinvention may be trailed behind the user on the wheels 19a, 19b with thewheels supporting the load' carried by the pack frame, or may be worn onthe back as a conventional pack frame without interference from thewheels or the connecting members. 1

As shown in FIGS. 5-7, the hip belt 17 comprises a pad generallyindicated at 23 engageable on the wearers hips and astrap 25 secured tothe outer surface of the pad adapted to encircle the wearer. Pad 23includes an elongated piece of flexible, resilient foam material .27,such as polyurethane foam, of sufficient length partially to encirclethe wearer from one hip across the small of the back to the other hip. Aprotector member 29 of relatively thin, stiff material, such as asuitable plastic, is bonded as by a suitable adhesive to the outersurface of the foam, as indicated at 31, at each side of the hip beltassembly, and a fabric cover 33 of nylon fabric or the like encloses thefoam 27 and the two protector members 29. Strap '25 has buckle memberson its ends as indicated at 35 for fastening the hip belt on the wearer.The strap is stitched to the outer surface of the cover 33- along lines36a and 36b at the longitudinal margins of the strap, but with the strapfree in part, as indicated at 37, from the cover along its lower marginat the sides of the hip belt via gaps in the stitching 36b.

The forward ends of connecting members 21a, 21b are pivotally connectedto the hip belt when the pack frame is trailed behind the wearer, andthe lower ends of the side members 3a, 3b are pivotally connected to thesides of the hip belt when the pack'frame is worn on the back. by meansgenerally indicated at 38. More particularly, this means includes aseries of hole s 39 in strap at each side of the hip belt, two suchholesbeing shown at each side of the hip belt enabling adjustment of theconnections to suit the user, Each of these holes is reinforced by agrommet 41. As shown best in FIG. '5, a hole 43 is provided in the lowerend portion of each side member 3a, 3b, and as shown in FIG. 7 aplurality of holes 45 is provided in the forward portion portion of eachconnecting member 21a, 21b. A removable pin 47 having a head 49 isinsertable through one of the holes 39 in strap 25 at each side of thehip belt from the side of the strap toward pad 23 and through the hole43 in the lower end or the adjacent I side member, or through a hole inthe front end portion of an adjacent connecting member 210 or 21bthereby pivotally to connect the side members or the connecting members(as the case may be) to the hip belt. With the connecting membersattached to and pivoted on pins 47, the pack frame may swing relative tothe wearer about the axis of the pins for accommodationtoground'contour. Each pin 47 has a diametric hole at its outer end forreceiving a wire keeper ring 53 to keep the pin in its hole 43 or 45,this ring being a conventional split ring. The holes 39 are provided inthe strap 25 where it is free in part of thecover 33 at 37 along itsbottom margin. This enables the strap to be separated from cover 3 topermit pin '47 to be inserted through hole 39. With the pin insertedthrough the hole as shown in FIGS, 5

and 6, the head 49 of the pin bears against the outside of the cover 33for pad 23 of the belt and against the protector member 29 bonded to thefoam material 27 within the cover to prevent the head of the pin frompushing against and gouging the pad and the wearer,' thus avoidingdiscomfort to the wearer.

ber is bent slightly to the rear, as indicated at 57, for

mounting wheels 19a, 19b with their axes slightly to the rear of theplane of the pack frame. Connecting members 21a, 21b mayalso be of metaltubing of circular cross-section and each is bent as indicated at 59 tohave an arm portion 61 extending at an angle of about 1 10 from theupper end of a leg portion 63. The lower end of the leg 63 of eachconnecting member (which is of circular cross-section) is ro tatablyreceived within the bore 55 of the respective side member 3a,'3b at theupper end of the latter. Thus, each connecting member is'swingable .atthe upper end of its respective side member between its extendedconnecting position in which it extends forwardly of its respective sidemember for being pivotally connected by pin 47 to hip belt 17 and itsretracted position. v

A diametric hole 65 is provided at the upper end of each side member 3a,312 for receiving a pin 67 similar to pin 47. The lower end of leg 63 ofeach of the connecting members 21a, 21b has two diametric holes 69 and71 therethrough at to one another and located so that withpin 67extending through hole 65 in the side member and through hole 69 in theconnecting member, the latter is pinned in its forwardly extendingbelt-connecting position, and with the pin extending through holes 69and 71 the connecting member is pinned in its retracted position.

Thus, with the pack frame '1 pivotally connected to the hip belt 17 asshown in FIG. 2, the frame may be trailed along behind the wearer onwheels 19a, 1911 if the terrain is suitable, or the frame may be worn onthe back without interference from the wheels or the connecting members21a, 21b when the terrain does not permit the pack frame to be trailedon the wheels. The construction of the hip belt 17 protects the wearerfrom. being 'gouged by pins 47 when the pack frame is either trailedbehind the wearer on its wheels or worn on the back. I

. FIGS. 9 and 10 show a modification of the frame 1 without wheels forbeing carried on the back only. The frame, here designated la todistinguish it from the frame 1, is substantially identical to the frame1 above described, except that it does not have any wheels, and the sideframe members, here designated 30 and 3d are formed as the sides of aninverted U-shaped length of tubing generally designated 81, the top barof the latter being designated 83. Three Crossbars-5, corresponding tobars 5 of the frame 1, span the side frame members 30 and 3d. The latterare somewhat shorter than side frame members 3a and 3b, otherwise theframe 1a is v prising pad means engageable on the wearerships, a

strap secured to the outside of the pad means adapted to encircle thewearer, means at the ends of the strap for fastening the hip belt inplace on the wearer, and

means for connecting a respective side member adjacent its lower end tothe hip belt at each side of the belt as it is worn for transferring aportion of the weight of the load-carried by the frame to the wearer'ships, said connecting means comprising at least one hole in the strap ateach side of the'hip belt, a hole in each side member adjacent itslowerend, and a headed pin at each side of the hip belt extending through therespective hole in the strap and the hole in the respective side memberfor connecting each side member adjacent its lower end to the hip belt,said strap being free in part of the pad means to permit the pin to beinserted through the hole in the strap from the side thereof toward thepad means and through the hole in the adjacent side member, with thehead of the pin bearing against the outside of the pad means, saidpadmeans including a relatively thin, stiff protector member between thehead of each pin and the pad means, a body of resilient,- flexible foammaterial of such length as to extend around the wearers back from oneside to the other, and a cover enclosing the foam material, saidprotector member being bonded to the outside of the foam and beingenclosed within the cover, and said strap being stitched to the outsideof the cover, so that the pad means including said protector member,when worn by the wearer, is interposed as a cushion between said headedfastener member and the wearer and said protector member preventsgouging of the wearer by said headed fastener member.

2. A pack frame as-set forth in claim 1 wherein said strap has a seri'esof holes therein at each side of the hip 'beltproviding differenthorizontal positions along the belt for the pins. I

3. A pack frame as set forth in claim 1 wherein the strap is free of thecover along the regionsof the series of holes via gaps in the stitchingof the strap to the cover for insertion of the pins.

4. A pack frame comprising a pair of generally parallel, spaced-apartside frame members and cross members extending between the side members,a pair of shoulder straps for the pack frame and' a hip belt comprisingpad means'engageablc on the wearers hips, a strap secured to the outsideof the pad means adapted to encircle the wearer, means at the ends ofthe strap for fastening the hip belt in place on the wearer, and meansfor connecting a respective side member adjacent its lower end to thehip belt at each side of the belt as it is worn for transferring aportion of the weight of the load carried by the frame to the wearerships, said connecting means comprising at least one hole in the strap ateach side of the hip belt, a hole in each side member adjacent its lowerend, and a headed pin at each side of the hip belt extending through therespective hole in the strap and the hole in the respective side memberfor connecting each side member adjacent its lower end to the hip belt,said pad means including a body of resilient, flexible foam material ofsuch length as to extend around the wearers back from one side of thewearer to the other and a cover enclosing the foam material, said strapbeing stitched to the outside of the cover, said holesin the strapoverlying the outside of said cover at the sides of the hip belt, andsaid strap being free of the cover at each side of the hip beltadjacent'said holes therein via gaps in the stitching of the strap tothe outside of the cover to permit said headed pin to be insertedthrough the hole in the strap from the side thereof toward the pad meansand through the hole in the adjacent side member.

v l =l

1. A pack frame comprising a pair of generally parallel, spacedapartside frame members and cross members extending between the side members,a pair of shoulder straps for the pack frame and a hip belt comprisingpad means engageable on the wearer''s hips, a strap secured to theoutside of the pad means adapted to encircle the wearer, means at theends of the strap for fastening the hip belt in place on the wearer, andmeans for connecting a respective side member adjacent its lower end tothe hip belt at each side of the belt as it is worn for transferring aportion of the weight of the load carried by the frame to the wearer''ships, said connecting means comprising at least one hole in the strap ateach side of the hip belt, a hole in each side member adjacent its lowerend, and a headed pin at each side of the hip belt extending through therespective hole in the strap and the hole in the respective side memberfor Connecting each side member adjacent its lower end to the hip belt,said strap being free in part of the pad means to permit the pin to beinserted through the hole in the strap from the side thereof toward thepad means and through the hole in the adjacent side member, with thehead of the pin bearing against the outside of the pad means, said padmeans including a relatively thin, stiff protector member between thehead of each pin and the pad means, a body of resilient, flexible foammaterial of such length as to extend around the wearer''s back from oneside to the other, and a cover enclosing the foam material, saidprotector member being bonded to the outside of the foam and beingenclosed within the cover, and said strap being stitched to the outsideof the cover, so that the pad means including said protector member,when worn by the wearer, is interposed as a cushion between said headedfastener member and the wearer and said protector member preventsgouging of the wearer by said headed fastener member.
 2. A pack frame asset forth in claim 1 wherein said strap has a series of holes therein ateach side of the hip belt providing different horizontal positions alongthe belt for the pins.
 3. A pack frame as set forth in claim 1 whereinthe strap is free of the cover along the regions of the series of holesvia gaps in the stitching of the strap to the cover for insertion of thepins.
 4. A pack frame comprising a pair of generally parallel,spaced-apart side frame members and cross members extending between theside members, a pair of shoulder straps for the pack frame and a hipbelt comprising pad means engageable on the wearer''s hips, a strapsecured to the outside of the pad means adapted to encircle the wearer,means at the ends of the strap for fastening the hip belt in place onthe wearer, and means for connecting a respective side member adjacentits lower end to the hip belt at each side of the belt as it is worn fortransferring a portion of the weight of the load carried by the frame tothe wearer''s hips, said connecting means comprising at least one holein the strap at each side of the hip belt, a hole in each side memberadjacent its lower end, and a headed pin at each side of the hip beltextending through the respective hole in the strap and the hole in therespective side member for connecting each side member adjacent itslower end to the hip belt, said pad means including a body of resilient,flexible foam material of such length as to extend around the wearer''sback from one side of the wearer to the other and a cover enclosing thefoam material, said strap being stitched to the outside of the cover,said holes in the strap overlying the outside of said cover at the sidesof the hip belt, and said strap being free of the cover at each side ofthe hip belt adjacent said holes therein via gaps in the stitching ofthe strap to the outside of the cover to permit said headed pin to beinserted through the hole in the strap from the side thereof toward thepad means and through the hole in the adjacent side member.